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Crape B, Akhmetova M, Akhmetniyaz P, Foster F, Nadyrov K, Toleubekova L. Number of palliative care nurse home visits and duration of palliative care associated with domains of the Good Death Inventory: A national survey of bereaved family caregivers in a middle income country. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING STUDIES ADVANCES 2024; 7:100217. [PMID: 39040616 PMCID: PMC11261078 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2024.100217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Background In the lower-middle-income country of Kazakhstan, palliative care services are in the early stages of integration into healthcare services. No prior studies have investigated associations between palliative care service factors and a good death in lower-middle-income countries, nor explored how palliative care nurses contribute to a good death. In this paper, a good death is referred to as the control of pain and symptoms, clear decision-making, a sense of closure, being recognized and perceived as an individual, preparation for death, and still being able to contribute to others, all taken together. Objectives To identify new opportunities for palliative care service nurses by investigating associations between palliative care service factors and a good death, as measured by the Good Death Inventory. Methods Family caretakers of deceased patients from palliative care units and hospices were surveyed across six different regions of Kazakhstan. Data collected included demographics for patients and caregivers, palliative care service data, and Good Death Inventory items. Poisson regression analysis with r variance and linear regressions were conducted to identify determinants for achieving a Good Death and for the 18 Good Death Inventory domains. Results Two hundred and eleven family caregivers participated in the survey. Bivariate analysis revealed five statistically significant associations (p ≤ 0.05) with the outcome of a good death. In multivariate linear regression analyses, a palliative care duration of greater-than-6-months, compared to less-than-1-month, was associated with improvements in 10 out of 18 domains of the Good Death Inventory (p ≤ 0.05). More-than-once-weekly palliative care home visits by nurses, compared to no visits, were also associated with improvements in four domains (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion We provide new directions for improvements in palliative care services in low-middle-income countries, giving impetus for resource allocation to palliative care home visits by nurses for achieving a good death for greater numbers of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byron Crape
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
| | - Makpal Akhmetova
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
| | - Pana Akhmetniyaz
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
| | - Faye Foster
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
| | | | - Lyazzat Toleubekova
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
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Mroz EL, Bluck S. Narrating Final Memories From Spousal Loss: The Role of Place and Quality of Death. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2024; 41:934-941. [PMID: 37776113 PMCID: PMC10980595 DOI: 10.1177/10499091231204965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: Personal memories of the death of a spouse can guide bereavement adjustment. Place of death and quality of death are end-of-life factors that are likely to influence death experiences and formation of subsequent personal memories. The current study employs narrative content-analysis to examine how place and quality of death relate to affective sequences present in older adults' final memories from the death of their spouse. Method: Based on power analyses, 53 older adults were recruited and completed a Final Memory Interview. They also reported place of spouse's death (ie, in hospital, out of hospital) and quality of death across four subscales. Final memory narratives were reliably content-analyzed (interrater agreements >.70), revealing positive and negative affective sequences, including: redemption, contamination, positive stability, and negative stability. Findings: Experiencing the death of a spouse in hospital was related to narrating final memories with contamination. In terms of quality of death, reporting a less comforting social environment at time of death was related to the presence of redemption in final memories. Reporting that one's spouse received appropriate medical care related to narrating memories that showed positive stability. Conclusions: Final memories are carried with the bereaved long after their loss. Positive final memories appear to stem from witnessing a comfortable, medically appropriate death outside of a hospital setting. End-of-life 'that is' between care and aligned with patients' values for place and treatment may be critical for spouses' formation of constructive final memories and bereavement adjustment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L. Mroz
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Susan Bluck
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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Aurén-Møkleby M, Aasbø G, Fredheim OMS, Mengshoel AM, Solbrække KN, Thoresen L. "It turned out right for both of us": A qualitative study about a preference for home death and actual place of death. DEATH STUDIES 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38916193 DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2369847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
This qualitative study was conducted in Norway to explore couples' preference for home death when one of the partners was dying from cancer, and what made home death possible or not. We conducted dyad interviews with five couples. After the patients' death, the spouses participated in individual interviews. The data were interpreted using thematic narrative analysis. One patient died at home, and three died in a healthcare institution. The narratives show how interdependency and mutual care were important when dealing with home death. When care needs were manageable at home, home was perceived a safe place and the preferred place for death. When care needs were experienced to become unmanageable at home, the sense of safety changed and admission to a health care institution was considered the best option. Regardless of place of death, the spouses experienced the end to have turned out right for their partner and themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gunvor Aasbø
- Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Olav Magnus S Fredheim
- Department of Palliative Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Kari N Solbrække
- Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lisbeth Thoresen
- Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Sperling D. "People aren't happy to see refugees coming to Switzerland. They don't like assisted suicide for foreigners": Organizations' perspectives regarding the right-to-die and suicide tourism. DEATH STUDIES 2024:1-15. [PMID: 38602817 DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2337209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The practice of suicide tourism refers to the traveling of individuals to other countries to seek legally permitted assisted suicide. This study employed a descriptive qualitative research approach exploring how right-to-die organizations perceive suicide tourism and its implications on the right-to-die. Five themes emerged following the analysis of 12 in-depth interviews with activists from right-to-die organizations and 13 relevant documents: (1) unequivocal attitudes toward suicide tourism; (2) relationships between the organizations and the media; (3) acting to change the legal status of the right-to-die; (4) the role of the family in interactions between the organization and the person seeking assistance; and (5) reciprocal relations between the organizations and the physicians. The findings reveal ambivalent attitudes within such organizations toward suicide tourism, inherent tension among participating physicians, and complex relationships between assisted suicide, palliative care, and the physicians' duty to promote individual choice at end-of-life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sperling
- Department of Nursing, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Head, Master's Program in Nursing, The Cheryl Spencer Department of Nursing, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Aurén-Møkleby M, Thoresen L, Mengshoel AM, Solbrække KN, Aasbø G. 'It's not just about me': a qualitative study of couples' narratives about home death when one of the partners is dying of cancer. Palliat Care Soc Pract 2023; 17:26323524231189517. [PMID: 37545874 PMCID: PMC10399270 DOI: 10.1177/26323524231189517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Most cancer patients state a preference for home death. Care and support from primary caregivers are important to enable dying at home. A preference for home death from the perspective of couples has rarely been investigated. Objectives To explore how a preference for home death is understood and enacted in couples where one of the partners is dying of cancer. Design A qualitative interview research design with a narrative approach was used. Methods Five couples participated in dyad interviews. During the analysis, two interviews that particularly illuminated couples' shared and individual views were chosen as the primary cases. Results The interviews show, in two highly different ways, how a preference for home death is a significant relational matter. The interviews are presented as two cases: 'Struggles in an Unknown Terrain' and 'Reliance at the Kitchen Table'. They show how a preference for home death can be understood and enacted as a struggle or as reliance based on the couple's shared biography and the partner's ability to care for the partner during the end-of-life phase. The analysis highlighted the negotiations that underpin a preference for home death. In these negotiations, the couples drew on idealised understandings of home death. These ideas were supported by cultural values related to autonomy and independence as well as participation and citizenship. Thus, in the negotiations about being cared for and caring, legitimate dependency and the maintenance of a reciprocal relationship were balanced. The presence of healthcare professionals and medical devices in the home had to be balanced with the need to maintain a sense of self and an authentic home. Conclusion A relational perspective on a preference for home death made us attentive to couples' negotiations. These negotiations give couples the opportunity to re-evaluate and reconfirm individual and mutual needs in the end-of-life phase.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lisbeth Thoresen
- Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Gunvor Aasbø
- Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo, Norway
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Pollock K, Caswell G, Turner N, Wilson E. The ideal and the real: Patient and bereaved family caregiver perspectives on the significance of place of death. DEATH STUDIES 2023; 48:312-325. [PMID: 37338854 PMCID: PMC10860700 DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2023.2225042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Home has become established as the preferred place of death within health policy and practice in the UK and internationally. However, growing awareness of the structured inequalities underpinning end-of-life care and the challenges for family members undertaking care at home raise questions about the nature of patient and public preferences and priorities regarding place of death and the feasibility of home management of the complex care needs at the end-of-life. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of 12 patients' and 34 bereaved family caregivers' perspectives and priorities regarding place of death. Participants expressed complex and nuanced accounts in which place of death was not afforded an overarching priority. The study findings point to public pragmatism and flexibility in relation to place of death, and the misalignment of current policy with public priorities that are predominantly for comfort and companionship at the end-of-life, regardless of place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian Pollock
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Glenys Caswell
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Nicola Turner
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Eleanor Wilson
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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Liljeroos M, Krevers B, Milberg A. Family members' long-term grief management: A prospective study of factors during ongoing palliative care and bereavement. Palliat Support Care 2022:1-12. [PMID: 36545770 DOI: 10.1017/s1478951522001687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Up to 10% of bereaved individuals can develop prolonged grief disorder. Several risk factors for prolonged grief symptom severity in family members have been identified, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding the multivariable effects between family members coping with loss and patient-related factors for prolonged grief symptom severity during bereavement. The aim was to identify risk factors for prolonged grief symptom severity in family members 1 year after patient death in relation to (1) the family member and the patient during ongoing palliative care and (2) the family member during bereavement. METHODS The participants consisted of family members (n = 99) of patients admitted to palliative home care in Sweden. The participants completed a survey during ongoing palliative care and at a follow-up 1 year after the patient's death. RESULTS The model selection chose 4 demographic and 4 preloss variables: family member's nervousness and stress, the patient's sense of security during palliative care, family members' sense of security during palliative care, and a family member attachment security anxiety dimension. Two postloss variables were positively associated with prolonged grief symptom severity: family members' continuing bond - internalized and continuing bond - externalized. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS How family members coped depended on (i) variables linked to the family members themselves, (ii) the relationship to the patient, and (iii) some patient-specific variables. There was also a link between preloss variables and postloss prolonged grief symptom severity. Hence, it should be possible to identify family members with a heightened risk for longer-term prolonged grief symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Liljeroos
- Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Centre for Clinical Research Sörmland, Uppsala University, Eskilstuna, Sweden
| | - Barbro Krevers
- Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Anna Milberg
- Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Advanced Home Care, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden
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Beetham B, Fasola C, Howard F. Preferred Place of Death Discussions: Are They Informing and Empowering Patients and their Family Caregivers? OMEGA-JOURNAL OF DEATH AND DYING 2022:302228221115587. [PMID: 35861425 DOI: 10.1177/00302228221115587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Factors influencing preferred place of death (PPoD) are variable between individuals. However, there is little understanding of how these preferences are formed and how consistent they are in the final months of life. In particular, the expectation and responsibility of family caregivers to provide unpaid caregiving support to their dying loved one in the home is often overlooked. There is a need for clinicians to take an individualised approach to PPoD conversations that is inclusive of the needs of both the patient and the family caregiver. More Good Deaths - A Change Programme responds to this gap in care by advancing the skills of clinicians having PPoD conversations with patients and their family caregivers. This paper describes the programme, providing insight into its benefits to advanced care planning and communication, as well as to our newest service - Cottage Hospice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryony Beetham
- Hospice in the Weald, Tunbridge Wells, UK
- Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Faith Howard
- Hospice in the Weald, Tunbridge Wells, UK
- School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
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